Chapter 3

As soon as Su Jinyuan recalled these events, she couldn’t help but burst into tears.

In the past, when those proper young ladies cried in his presence, their tears fell like pear blossoms in the rain—so delicately sorrowful that one couldn’t help but feel pity. But when this girl cried, her nose ran and her tears blended into a messy mix. Her lips were pressed tight as huge droplets fell, as if her sobs might even carve pits into the ground.

Young Master Xie had never seen such a scene before. His hand froze, and the words almost touching his mouth were immediately retracted.

“I didn’t even hit you—why are you crying?” he exclaimed.

The moment those words were spoken, Su Jinyuan cried even more bitterly.

Xie Yunyan’s face grew dark with anger. Noticing that the captured mountain bandits were all staring this way—as if daring him to do something—he barked at them, “What are you looking at? Keep staring, and I’ll gouge your eyeballs out!”

After that, he lifted Su Jinyuan and carried her over to the fire. Taking a deep breath, he ordered, “Shut up.”

Through her sobs, Su Jinyuan hiccupped, and before she knew it, two pieces of flatbread were thrust into her arms.

“You were ugly to begin with—and you get even uglier when you cry.”

With her head bowed, Su Jinyuan stared at the food in her arms as tears kept falling in heavy, endless drops.

Veins standing out on his neck, Xie Yunyan shoved two slices of marinated meat her way. “I only brought this much—it’s all for you. And no more crying!”

Her incessant crying even gave him a headache.

Fearing the girl might start crying again, he raised his eyebrows and warned, “If you cry any more, I’ll beat you!”

Seeing the young man’s face set in a severe, almost demonic scowl—a far cry from the charming, gentle smile he once wore on the mountain—Su Jinyuan felt a mix of anger and helplessness. Yet the flatbread and marinated meat in her arms only deepened the numbness within her heart, as if it were slowly steeping in lukewarm water.

With tear-streaked, reddened eyes, she sobbed, “Young Master Xie, I know Lu Zhuo—but I never intended to run away on my wedding day!”

Su Jinyuan had indeed fallen for Lu Zhuo, yet she also understood propriety. Bound by her father’s marriage pact, she had never done anything improper with him. In fact, leaving the city on her wedding day was truly because Mada Yu had come looking for her, holding a cherished personal belonging that once belonged to her younger brother.

“I only met Lu Zhuo after Aunt coaxed me out of the city,” she continued.

At first, he claimed he would help her find her brother and led her into the mountains. Later, in the barren wilderness, he confessed his love for her and pleaded with her not to marry—warning that even if she eloped from the wedding arranged by the Xiao family, they would never forgive her.

Back then, she was nothing more than an innocent, naive girl—terrified of the Xiao family’s reproach and of being scolded by her uncle if she returned. Overwhelmed by the earnest affection from the man she loved, she lost her senses and allowed Lu Zhuo to coax her into a hasty elopement out of the capital.

Xie Yunyan frowned as he looked at her.

Su Jinyuan raised her hand emphatically. “I swear, I never meant to disgrace the Xiao family. If my aunt hadn’t come looking for me with my younger brother’s keepsake, I would never have left on my wedding day to disgrace the Xiao family.”

Seeing the earnest resolve in her eyes, Xie Yunyan noticed that despite the showiness of her features, her eyes were unusually clear. He was no longer the ignorant child he once was. He recalled that on the day he had gone to the Su residence to receive the bride, Madam Yu had insisted—without even a hint of cover-up—that Su Jinyuan had eloped with someone; it was Brother Xiao who ended up suppressing the matter and forbidding anyone from speaking about it.

With a serious gaze, Xie Yunyan asked, “Are you not on good terms with your aunt?”

Su Jinyuan nodded. “She has never liked me. She even wanted Su Xinyue to marry the eldest son. Earlier, she urged me to cancel my engagement—and when she later insisted that I bring Su Xinyue to the Xiao family, I refused…”

Madam Yu had repeatedly tried to persuade her to bring Su Xinyue to the Xiao family, but she refused. In fact, Madam Yu had even entertained the idea of having Su Xinyue seduce someone, and she didn’t bother to hide it.

Looking at Xie Yunyan, Su Jinyuan continued, “I know my aunt has wronged me, but what happened on my wedding day is my fault—I’ve shamed the eldest son and the Xiao family. When I return to the capital, I am ready to face the punishment that the Xiao family imposes.”

Hearing that she wasn’t shirking her responsibility, Xie Yunyan’s expression softened a little. He regarded Xiao Yunxi as a real brother and was furious that the runaway bride had disgraced Brother Xiao.

Xie Yunyan snorted, “You think you can find someone without the Xiao family’s help? You’re so stupid—if you get sold out, you deserve it.”

He muttered a curse under his breath, yet the chill about him seemed to dissipate. Removing his cloak, he tossed it over Su Jinyuan’s head and said, “I’ve told you before—the Xiao family isn’t unreasonable. Once we return to the capital and sort everything out, we’ll deal with whoever is responsible.”

“Now hurry and gather your things. After delivering these items to the local authorities, we’ll head straight back to the capital.”

Seeing how the young man was so clear about his likes and dislikes—and how he hadn’t gotten entangled in this mess at all—Su Jinyuan clutched the cloak that still carried his warmth, wrapping herself tighter. At that moment, she couldn’t help but feel she’d been a fool in her previous life. With such a good family, how could she have been so blind as to choose Lu Zhuo?

In the mountains, the heavy rain lasted half the night and only came to a stop the next morning.

Xie Yunyan bound the mountain bandits with rope, dragging them along one after another like rolling gourds, and led Su Jinyuan to the county magistrate’s office at the foot of the mountain. Only after handing them all over to the authorities did he find a carriage and take her back to the capital.

Though the young man still spoke in a rather blunt and caustic manner, he was immeasurably better than when they’d first met in the mountains.

Su Jinyuan changed her clothes and enjoyed two hearty meals. When she saw Xie Yunyan, with an expression of clear impatience, shoving a mysterious hand warmer toward her, she blinked in surprise. It was already April—where on earth had he gotten something like that?

Xie Yunyan explained, “It’s two days’ journey to the capital from here. Hold onto this so you don’t slow me down.”

Seeing that Su Jinyuan merely raised her eyes to look at him, he directly shoved the hand warmer into her arms, turned, climbed onto the carriage’s pole, and with a quick flick of his reins, drove off.

The carriage jolted, and Su Jinyuan had to grab the window to steady herself. As she watched the carriage curtain sway and caught sight of the young man leaning against the side with a stern expression, she couldn’t help but emit a soft laugh. Holding the hand warmer close, she felt a deep, comforting warmth.

The people of the Xiao family are truly very, very good.

Savoring the warmth radiating from the hand warmer, Su Jinyuan carefully recalled the events of her previous life. She remembered that on the very day she left the capital in her previous life, urgent news came from the southern lands.

Due to unrelenting rains, Linchuan Commandery suffered a devastating dam breach that flooded the city and left the starving dead scattered everywhere. The central government’s inept disaster relief led to a refugee uprising, and Nanyue seized the chance to march north with ambitions of capturing Linchuan.

Xiao Yunxi, along with General Xiao and three other sons of the Xiao family, mobilized their forces the next day under the emperor’s orders. That battle marked the beginning of the extermination of the Xiao family—none of those sent off to fight ever returned.

General Xiao died, and Xiao Yunxi, too, perished in the southern lands.

Later, for reasons unknown, the Xiao family was branded traitors colluding with the enemy, and nearly everyone remaining in the capital was executed. In the end, the only surviving member of the Xiao household was Xie Yunyan, who had been raised by them since childhood.

During that time, Su Jinyuan had been in Qu’an. First, she was sold out by Lu Zhuo and lost her honor; then, overwhelmed by countless other troubles, she had no time to worry about anything else. By the time she learned about the calamity that befell the Xiao family, more than half a year had already passed.

Everything she knew about the Xiao family came later from idle gossip. She had no idea exactly when the disaster struck or what its true cause was. Only later, when she returned to the capital with Lu Zhuo and Xie Yunyan suddenly rebelled—leading troops to besiege the imperial city and unleash a spree of slaughter—did she vaguely realize that the incident was connected to Duke Yu and several officials.

Huddled inside the carriage with her hands clenched, Su Jinyuan was about to find an excuse to mention the matter to Xie Yunyan. Regardless of whether General Xiao’s forces had met with disaster, at the very least, the remaining members of the Xiao family in the capital should be forewarned. But she never anticipated that fate would deal such a sudden and overwhelming blow.

They were blocked on the road.

When the carriage screeched to an abrupt halt, Su Jinyuan sensed something was wrong. She quickly lifted the curtain to peer outside and saw from a distance that people blocked the entire official road. Not far off, someone was even brandishing a bow and arrow, encircling them from all sides.